Fuzz

Continuing my plan to watch every Burt Reynolds movie in his filmography in order, I come to 'Fuzz'

My usual Plot In A Paragraph is a bit tricky, as there are several plots, which all take place at the same time, which is probably more realistic than most cop movies, because things are always happening at the same time in a police station. Let's see.

Plot In A Paragraph: A gang of bombers led by a mysterious man known only as "The Deaf Man" (Yul Brynner) is blowing up city officials as part of an extortion plot. Some punk kids are setting drunken bums on fire and a rapist is loose in the park.

I really enjoyed this movie Reynolds shares great chemistry with Tom Skerrit and Jack Weston, and Yul Brynner and Raquel Welch were both good too!! It had some funny scenes and rather than good police work, the cops stumble on the solution by sheer coincidence (which makes a refreshing change)

The nicest scene in the movie is a touching moment between Reynolds and his deaf wife in the hospital, as Reynolds attempts to play down his serious injuries!!

After reading several bad reviews of this film I was almost afraid to watch it. I hate wasting my time on bad movies, but I decided based on the cast to give it a go and I'm glad I did. The movie is not a fast paced comedy by any stretch of the imagination. It is instead, like many movies from it's time, a slow moving style of film along the lines of The Big Fix. It keeps your interest because the characters are interesting. It makes you laugh at times and actually has a little suspense mixed into a story that seems disjointed at first, but ties together so well in the end it makes the whole movie work.

The plot centers partially around a bombers scheme to blackmail the city of Boston, but more so around the police precinct he chooses to contact with his threats. We see a group of officers trying to get through their daily routine as they work on several cases at once. Focusing on the bomber but still trying to deal with a myriad of other problems that present themselves as they try to solve other crimes. It presents itself as more of a "day in the life" type movie rather than a film with one main focus. It's well acted, well told and is a good movie for those times when you really want to just relax and get into a story. Sure it has a few weak spots as with most movies but it is certainly worth putting on and I'm very glad I had the chance to see it.

In short, if your looking for Starskey & Hutch 2005, this isn't it. If your looking for a slow paced intelligent movie, don't let bad reviews chase you away and give this film a shot.

This is billed as a Burt Reynold's vehicle but he is actually part of a great cast in this Ed McBain 87th Precinct comedy-thriller. The police in Boston are searching for an extortionist dubbed "The Deaf Man" who is demanding cash or he kills a high ranking city official. Reynolds along with Tom Skeritt and Jack Weston are the cops on the case. The film really has a great ensemble feel and, I hope, accurately predicts the goings on inside a police station. Raquel Welch co-stars as a female detective out to snag a rapist. Yul Brynner, who must have been having lots of fun at this point in his career, is "The Deaf Man." His screen time is minimal but he does a good job. Familiar faces pop up in nearly every other scene with guys like Charles Tyner, Albert Popwell, Tamara Dobson and a very young Charles Martin Smith in small roles. The film's only major problem is that it neatly wraps up everything in the end. Seriously, every crime the cops are investigating is solved in one scene that relies heavily on convenience.

Based on the same characters as the early 60s TV series 87th PRECINCT that starred Robert Lansing, Norman Fell, Gena Rowlands and others. The TV series was based in New York City but here the 87th Precinct is in Boston (though no one has a Boston accent).

Burt Reynolds stars in this ensemble comedy/drama about a mad bomber trying to extort money from a wealthy man. It's an uneasy mix of comedy and drama especially when people start getting blown up. The cops also come off as a bunch of really stupid oafs without any common sense at all.

Reynolds plays the same character Lansing played on TV. Raquel Welch shows up as a cop and is totally miscast and unbelievable, though to be fair, it's a badly written role. Other cops include Jack Weston, Tom Skerritt, James McEachin, Steve Ihnat, Dan Frazer, and others. Gino Conforti and Gerald Hiken plays i for laughs as a copy of wisecracking painters assigned to re-do the squad room. And Neile Adams shows up for one scene as Reynolds' deaf wife (the Rowlands part on TV).

The bad guys are headed by Yul Brynner as a hearing-impaired maniac and Don Gordon and Peter Bonerz as his main stooges. There's also a couple of kids played by Charles Martin Smith and Gary Morgan who run around torching drunks (a real barrel of laughs).

Nothing quite works and the film makes Boston look like a burned out slum.

Bryner (whose fun) plays a assassin who threatens to kill all the city leaders one by one. It's up to some 'zany' characters at a crazy police station to stop him.

Attempt at bringing the irreverent, anti-establishment, comedy-drama of M*A*S*H to the police squad, is a complete disaster. The 'wacky' humor is both empty and annoying. Throwing in some strained sentiment and jarring action makes it even more baseless.

The actors seem to be just walking through their roles and the direction has no energy or vision. The pacing is disjointed without any rhythm or logic. Just about every shot is dark and shadowy. Like it was filmed on a camera with a very bad exposure.

The police station just never seems real. The precinct on BARNEY MILLER is more believable. Also having Reynolds and Weston dress as nuns just to catch the bad guy is a perfect example of forced humor.

The lowest point involves a unnecessary story thread where Welch goes after a prostitute killer. The final confrontation scene between her and the killer is a complete and pathetic rip off of the similar scene in KLUTE (complete with those chiming piano chords). This alone solidifies it as one of the biggest bombs of all time. If that's not enough you also have Dinah Shore singing "I'll be Seeing You" over the closing credits.

The whole thing is just excruciating. Does feature a young up and coming Tom Skerrit. Also has Charles Martin Smith as a punk who sets street bums on fire.